Julianna Beathard 3-6-12 2nd period Lab Abstract A few days ago we performed a lab in class containing the

compound copper (III) carbonate. The purpose of this lab was to determine the percent yield of carbon dioxide. Because we started off with the compound copper (III) carbonate and ended with carbon dioxide, this was a decomposition lab. There were many materials that were mandatory for this lab to be carried out. The most important material that was used was the solid compound copper (III) carbonate. Other crucial materials included a Bunsen burner, a crucible, scales, a ring sand, a clay triangle, crucible tongs and stir rods. Without these materials, we would not have been able to carry out these important steps. In order to achieve the purpose of this lab, which was to determine the percent yield of carbon dioxide, many steps were necessary. First, the mass of the empty crucible was recorded. This crucible weighed approximately 18.18 grams. After this was recorded, about 1.5 grams of copper (III) carbonate was added to the empty crucible. Copper (III) carbonate was determined by its bright greenish/blue color. The total mass of the crucible and the copper (III) carbonate was then calculated and turned out to be 19.45 grams. Next, we placed the crucible containing the compound over the Bunsen burner. After a few seconds, the copper (III) carbonate began turning a jet-black color. The reason for this was because the gas from the copper (III) carbonate was being released and the compound was turning into copper oxide. Once the compound had turned completely black, we removed it from the Bunsen burner and placed it on the table to cool. When it was at room temperature, we weighed the mass of the crucible and the copper oxide, which was 19.32 grams. After all these steps were completed, the next step in the process was to determine the amount of carbon dioxide that was released. This was calculated by subtracting the mass of the crucible and the copper oxide (19.32 grams) from the mass of the copper (III) carbonate (19.54 grams). We determined that 0.22 grams of carbon dioxide were released when the copper (III) carbonate compound was heated. The final step of this lab was to identify the percent yield of carbon dioxide. Dividing the experimental yield by the theoretical yield and multiplying that by 100 will give you the percent yield. Therefore, we divided 0.22 by 0.48 and received the answer of 0.4583. We then multiplied this number by 100 to get 45.83 as the percent yield.